Rock Music
by LemonyOrange
Summary: Laura Hollis does not like Rock Music. Or at least, she thinks she doesn't. Re-upload from AO3


So, I wrote this a while ago and put it on AO3, but I figured any readers deserve it too. It's probably my favourite piece of writing to date. I really enjoyed it, and I hope you will too.

Laura Hollis did not like Rock Music. She didn't feel the joy that comes with a pounding kick drum, a driving bass line, finger-tearing guitar licks or lyrics that were barely heard over everything else going on. She didn't understand the happiness that was experienced by teenagers wearing black in a crowded, sweaty mosh-pit, with boys jumping around like idiots and getting high not so discreetly in the centre. She just didn't get the hype that was associated with a skinny guy with long hair wearing make-up and screaming into a microphone about how he hates her, every band and every song sounded almost the exact same - loud, repetitive, angry and annoying.

Laura was more into dance, pop, trance, even country. The heaviest she would go would be her dad's old classic rock records - but come on, Livin' On A Prayer, Stairway To Heaven and Don't Stop Believin' were classics. Tegan and Sara were her go to for almost every kind of mood, and recently the Irish music industry had been churning out some good stuff - Hozier, Kodaline, Delorentos, they all had places on her iPod. And her YouTube replay button was probably sick of being pushed under Girls Like Girls. It wasn't that Laura didn't appreciate music, oh no. She just preferred the finer aspects of melodies and sound to the raw energy that seemed to be the only driving force behind rock and metal music.

So when she got offered a position at the Voice of Silas magazine, a newspaper that focused on the music in Silas City and across the world, of course she jumped at the chance. Lola Perry was the editor, and having seen Laura's talent in her column in her university paper, and organising an interview once she graduated, Perry was sure that she had the perfect journalistic team in Laura Hollis and Danny Lawrence. Danny's pictures never failed to capture the details that Laura's words couldn't quite capture - through no fault of her own, of course. Sometimes, words just aren't enough.

Laura was a good journalist, great even, but she was still only working at a semi-professional level, so she had to take assignments whenever she was offered them. If she made the final cut every issue for six months, she'd have a permanent job with the Voice. So far, she had four out of the six required, and she was eagerly anticipating her next one, which would like as not involve an interview with a rising star on the Silas Music scene - bigger stars were for more experienced journalists, and Laura was aware of her limitations. So when she got the call from Perry with the details of the assignment, she was excited to say the least.

"I need you to do a big one for me Laura. Sarah-Jane and Natalie are away this week, so they can't cover it."

"Sure Perry! What do you have for me?" While she was paying attention, Laura was also mentally going through a list of VoS employees to try and remember what SJ and Natalie usually covered. LaF wrote about Music Technology, Kirsch followed New and Upcoming Acts in Silas, Betty was the best at doing Pop pieces...

"Well, there's a popular band called QuickSilver touring the states at the moment, and they're due to hit Silas on Saturday. I need you to get me a four-page piece on the concert, the whole tour and the band itself. We have an interview with Carmilla Karnstein, the lead singer, scheduled for right after the show. You can do this, right?" Perry sounded slightly more panicked than usual.

"Of course I can! Don't worry Perry, Danny and I will give you the best article you've ever read in your life!" Internally, she was screaming. A four-page spread! That was huge news. She even stopped her mental run-through of her co-workers. "I'll do some research tonight on the band, and you'll have your article by next Friday."

And that was how, despite her dislike of Rock Music, Laura Hollis ended up at a QuickSilver concert. Five minutes after she had hung up on Perry she had remembered that SJ and Natalie had been hired because of their prowess at writing articles on Rock and Metal, and when her laptop finally powered up, she read about QuickSilver's success with their albums Into The Wild, The Strange Case..., and of course, their newest album/tour, Ultraviolet. She chose not to listen to any of their music - at least at the concert, she'd have Danny to share her disdain with. But, as things turned out, she didn't. Danny had called earlier to tell Laura that Perry needed her at 09:00 to photograph another musician for the cover, but that she would be able to make the interview after. So Laura was left alone to watch the show, with no one to keep her company in the mess of teenagers and young adults that were milling around in front of the stage.

The opening act wasn't so bad. They were a four-piece band, with a female lead singer and a sort of peppy attitude towards their music. The girl was wearing a corset and a tutu with ripped tights. Her tutu and her hair were the same colour as the guitarist's mohawk - bright pink. They had some good songs, Laura had to admit, and after their set, she was still singing one in particular to herself :

 _"I've got a heart, gets on everybody's nerves,_

 _They don't want the truth, they just want the words,_

 _Blah blah blah blah, I can sing it 'til I'm dead,_

 _And none of you remember a single thing I've said."_

She made sure to write the name of the band in her notebook, Icon For Hire, as well as a few notes about their performance. She wanted to put a little bit on their set in her article too. She really had enjoyed it. QuickSilver were next, but there was a ten minute interval while the stage technicians set up for them. Laura spent the time going over some of the notes she had already written about the band. There's nothing worse then trying to interview someone you know nothing about.

Suddenly, the lights went down again, and a very faint sound, almost like feedback but not nearly so high-pitched began to reverberate around the stadium. As more people began to notice it, a cheer went up in the crowd. The sound continued to increase in volume, and spotlights appeared on the stage, on a drummer, a guitarist and a bassist. They all had their heads bowed, their hands ready at their instruments. But there was no sign of the singer.

 _"Oooohhhhh, I miss the misery!"_

Following the shout, a huge cry rose from the audience as a fourth spotlight appeared, and there stood Carmilla Karnstein. The guitars and drums kicked in, and Laura sat back to watch the crowd go wild.

After the first song, Carmilla addressed the crowd, thanking them for coming and wishing them all a good time, the usual stuff you hear at concerts. Laura was struck by her voice. It wasn't as deep as she'd been expecting from her singing - in comparison it was positively sweet. Her confidence was astounding too, she was able to converse easily with members of the audience between songs, giving them doses of sarcasm and philosophy as well as the music they came for. The atmosphere was electric, and Laura even began to enjoy herself. The songs weren't too heavy for her, but they still gave off that same energy and electricity that she was finally able to understand. About halfway through the set, she found herself in the mosh-pit, jumping to the music with the rest of the crowd.

 _"Between love,_

 _Between hate,_

 _Shake the silence back but it's too late,_

 _And it haunts you,_

 _And it haunts you,_

 _It's a love-hate,_

 _Heartbreak!"_

QuickSIlver really had quite the stage presence, especially Carmilla. She was clearly in control of every movement, but managed to give an aura of being out of control, particularly during the heavier songs. At some points, there was no words to describe the show (and the singer) without using sexy. Laura was pretty sure that some of the songs were written purely for that purpose ( _"I get off on you, getting off on me"_ ), but some of them showed her to be so loving and gentle it almost hurt ( _"I breathe you in again, just to feel you"_ ). The young journalist was absolutely positive that Carmilla Karnstein had way more layers then she let the world see.

Two months after her article was published, Laura Hollis was happily living her life the way she'd always wanted to. She had a permanent position at The Voice of Silas, her father was finally accepting that she had no intentions of moving closer to home, and her rent was fully paid up. Currently, she was stretched out in her bed, dozing in the morning sun. Not her usual Saturday routine, but after a long week of working on an article about some generic boy-band that were starting to gain attention, Laura was sure that she deserved a little time off.

It most certainly wasn't anything to do with the activities she had been enjoying with her extremely attractive girlfriend the night before, the same woman who was trying to burrow into the space between Laura's neck and shoulder in order to avoid the brightening sun. There was no way that going out with Carmilla Karnstein could possibly have interrupted Laura's sleeping schedules. Definitely not.

She ran her free hand through the curly hair that fanned across the pillow, smiling when Carmilla tightened the arm around her waist.

"I forgot to tell you when you came home. I wrote a new song." Carmilla voices was slightly hoarse from sleep, but in Laura's opinion, it was still as beautiful as ever.

"Yeah, you were kind of distracted. Will you sing it for me later?"

"No. It's a surprise. You can hear it when it's recorded, that way it'll be perfect."

Laura smiled wider still, and they fell back into a comfortable silence.

One year after her first Rock concert, Laura found that her opinions had definitely changed. No longer did she find the wild energy that drove rock music incomprehensible. She had learned that she always had a place in a mosh-pit. She was beginning to grow a... distaste for the more popular bands, that sang emotionless songs written for them by other people. Carmilla had had a massive effect on her life, moving her to a house rather than an apartment, but was still close enough to VoS HQ for her to work. She had found new friends in the other members of QuickSilver, as well as their road crew. At work, she was being promoted, and earning more, not that she needed it. Carmilla may have been a rockstar, but Laura didn't like to feel dependant on her. She had never wanted to be that kind of girl.

Whenever she was feeling down, when Carmilla was away for recording or touring, she could always listen to any of the albums that her girlfriend left behind, so it felt like she was still nearby. She developed an appreciation for bands like Nirvana, Breaking Benjamin, Nightwish, Greenday and of course Icon For Hire. But, in her own opinion, the best were the QuickSilver albums. She loved hearing her girlfriend's voice, no matter what song she was singing. But her favourite had to be the one Carmilla had given to her on the night she got back from recording her next album. It came as a small, unmarked CD in a paper case with a cupcake drawn on it.

"This is the song I wrote."

"Tell me, is it about baked goods?" Laura teased, grinning up at the singer. Carmilla blushed and looking away.

"No, it's about you. Well, us."

She'd left the house when Laura went to play it for the first time, under the pretext of needing to give Will back his earphones. When she came back, she was barely in the door before Laura had her pinned against the wall, kissing her fiercely.

They'd had a lazy morning the next day too.

Laura Hollis had fallen in love with Rock Music. She had also fallen in love with Carmilla Karnstein. And she couldn't possibly be any happier. Except when QuickSilver were touring, and Carmilla was suddenly on the other side of the world, and Laura felt a little lonely. But that was when she listened to the song Carmilla wrote for her. It was most definitely her favourite song.

 _"I am beautiful with you,_

 _Even in the darkest part of me,_

 _I am beautiful with you,_

 _Make it feel the way it's supposed to be,_

 _You're here with me,_

 _Show me this and I'll believe,_

 _I am beautiful with you."_


End file.
